what a rainy day

We are so not used to this kind of weather, it was an all out soaker this morning for both the bus stop and then pre school drop off. We are having a serious drought here in Ohio, and unseasonably high temps, it has been 90 this week. It's been awhile since I had to contend with jackets, umbrellas, puddles, back packs...all at once. But after I dropped the last of my passengers off, I was headed to do errands when the start of one of my favorite songs came on the radio: Add It Up by the Violent Femmes. Right after that, I stopped to get gas (in the rain) and when I got back in, another classic was beginning: Yaz's Don't Go. Not many Yaz fans in the world, and you very rarely hear them on the radio. It certainly put me in a good mood, and kept me moving on this blah day. I am also inspired to tackle adding tunes to my MP3. Remember, the Sansa I used to love? Well that thing has become a real pain. I downloaded 200+ songs during my 3 months free at Rhapsody courtesy of Best Buy only apparently the joke is on me (and many others I have found via the internet) b/c when my 3 months expired, so did the songs. It took me a whole day of online research to clear them all from the player, and now slowly I am trying to add back some music. And apparently a secondary trouble spot is that when you clear everything out, the mp3 player really doesn't know how to re-organize itself. So I have about 15 songs on there now, I cannot create a playlist (yet?!) and it is not even organizing them correctly by Artist. It lists the Dixie Chicks 3x's and I only have 5 total songs by them in there. Very frustrating. If I had unlimited time, which I don't, I still would not choose to spend it doing this. But in the end, music is a good thing and I need some tunes if I am going to continue walking and getting fit! Pin It

we're a puzzle

Last night, while in my bed (I know, BAD habit to start) Shelby said: Look Mom, we are a puzzle.
See, often before she nods off, she will ask me to hold her hand and even though I am breaking some cardinal rule by allowing her to fall asleep in our bed, and then later move her to her own, dangit it is sweet! So we are holding hands, and she says that: we are a puzzle. We had just done three, 24 piece puzzles, about 10 times. She is way into a puzzle phase and our hands intertwined reminded her of how the pieces of a puzzle go together. Dangit, it IS sweet, right? And a metaphor for life too. Really, think deep. Pin It

art show

With school in full swing for both girls, some amazing works of art are coming home. These are the two features of the week! Self portrait, by Shelby. Apparently she assisted in much of the cutting, but my favorite are the distinct brown eyes, just like her own. Next, we have the Jesus pennant by Olivia, with the inverted U. Both of these are keepers, motivating me to go purchase another plastic storage tote, so I can get back in the habit of keeping one for each girl all year.

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a fun surprise

I was just reading through the 9/14 weekly digest on Erin Lincoln's blog at Creating Keepsakes and saw a note about "inverse scallops" and thought that sounded cool. Imagine my surprise when I clicked and my layout opened up!! The pink one of Kacie shown right below. Yea, me! Wish those people would just go on and call me up and ask to publish some of my pages :)

Here it is: link.

I have been really working on cleaning and purging over here. I know 2 hours a day to myself (or yourself) may not seem like much, but to a stay at home mom, who after 6 years has found herself alone a few days a week, man it is like the jackpot. Funny though, I really miss my girls. Today Shelby was in a carpool for the first time, and honestly, I was a bit sad not to be the one to pick her up AND it made the morning feel so long. She did great, it is me with the growing pains, eh? But during that time, I walked for 20 minutes ( I did that yesterday too--me time=good thing), dropped off another stack of stuff to St. Vincent De Paul, and swept and mopped all my downstairs floors. Unheard of accomplishments for me! Pin It

fewer posts

yet more creating and cooking going on behind the scenes. I save all my pics into Picasa by Google, and for some reason, all week, it is not allowing me to share those directly from there to here--which is much simpler and quicker. Ah well, love technology when it works for me; not so much when it defies me.

I am trying so hard to eat well, and eat less overall and snack less. Instead, it has created an obsession of thinking of little else but food, and when I can eat next. Drat. I have a 20 year HS reunion coming up and I'd love to attend with less spectacular love handles.

I made a few new recipes for dinner. The rice took much longer to cook, and was just mediocre so no sense sharing that recipe. I made Rachael Ray's Turkey Croquettes which I have linked to the side, and those are good, a bit labor intensive though.

I also made the caramel apple recipe shown here . Yum. Olivia licked one beater and then moved on to a spoon, ending by declaring she wanted that on her next birthday cake (which is not until July by the way). If you were to put caramel icing on a cake or cupcake, what kind would you choose? Chocolate, pumpkin muffins? Looking for a good fit.

I made a few new digi layouts this week too. The one of Shelby is made from the "Goodbye to Summer" kit at mydigitalmuse.com. The one of Kacie was actually a template which is pretty darned cool, eh? Those digi papers are from MDM too.

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finally...

school began for Shelby! What a wait with Olivia starting a full 2 weeks ahead of her, AND being sick last week on the "meet the teacher" day. Girl has had enough of talking about school, she was ready to go!

She did great, kissed me goodbye like a confident kid, not my baby! And she did the same today on day 2.

I was waiting to add my new blog banner until I had an official first day of school photo of her. So there you have it. Everything is from the Studious Kit at mydigitalmuse.com.

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good eats

Last night my friend made dinner for 5 of us girls, same group from back in July. Delicious Filet Mignon with Bearnaise sauce, and the most sensational side dish: Tomato Corn Salsa. We ate it at about room temperature, I think cold or hot would be fine too!

Tomato-Corn Salsa

4 ears of corn-husks removed (I think she used more like 6 or 8)
2 tsp olive oil
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
3 green onions, diced
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
2 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper

Brush corn with oil. Grill over medium-high heat for 8 minutes, turning every 2 minutes until done. Let stand for 10 minutes and then cut kernels from the cob.
Combine corn, tomatoes, and next 5 ingredients, tossing to coat.

Yummo!

Earlier in the week, I made this beef enchilada recipe. I so rarely make it and I am not sure why, because it easy and tasty. Plus, I have been on a little Mexican kick. I shared half with my neighbors. Oh, and you can take the short cut of using a jar of enchilada sauce, but I much prefer this. It is really fresh tasting, and not spicy at all, which is good for our taste buds here. You can always add extra heat w/ hot sauce or peppers on top.

Enticing Enchiladas

1 lb. ground chuck
1 small onion, chopped
1 c. cream style cottage cheese (small curd)
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chilies
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (4.5 ounce) can chopped green chiles (optional, I omit this)
10 6 inch flour tortillas
2 c. shredded Mexican Cheese blend

COOK ground chuck and onion in a large skillet over high heat, stirring until beef crumbles and meat is no longer pink; drain. Return to skillet, stir in cottage cheese.

PROCESS diced tomatoes and tomato sauce in a food processor until smooth. Stir in chopped chiles if desired.

SPOON 2 to 3 tbs. ground beef mixture down the center of each tortilla; top each w/ 2 tbs. tomato mixture and 1.5 tbs. cheese. Roll up tortillas and place seam side down in lightly greased 13x9 baking dish. Pour remaining tomato mixture over top, top with remaining cheese.

BAKE enchiladas at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

I am so in the mood to cook and bake with Fall approaching. Even though it has still been hotter than hot here, I have been getting a head start. Chili cannot be far away! Pin It

scrapbook stuff

A quick sample of some recent things I have done. The top 3 use items from mydigitalmuse.com.

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she's back

Pretty much. Sorta. Depending on the moment.
We headed outside for some photos I had to do for an assignment and she was a pretty willing subject too. A beautiful one, huh? Most of the afternoon went well and then around 5p, something happened and she had the longest fit, on record, in this house. Over 30 minutes of sheer screaming. Forget distraction, talking, hugging, time out. Nothing worked. She finally passed out cold under the dining room table, and the rest of us, ate dinner with her under there. She rallied later though. Poor kid. Just tired of being sick and tired of being tired I expect. I love her any which way though.
Can't put my finger on what I love so much about these, those dark beautiful eyes? The pigtails? Sweet expressions?

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missing this girl

This was early Sunday morning. I can actually see a trace of her not feeling well but at this moment, she was laughing and full of energy. Beginning Sunday night, she has had a really high fever...over 102 almost around the clock. The ped checked her out yesterday and there is nothing obvious like an ear infection or strep, and I can see all the telltale signs of her PFAPA, including mouth sores this time which are new for her. I guess I got cocky on my previous post and had to be reminded what a gift a healthy child is. This WILL pass, but in the meantime, my heart is breaking over this very sick baby. This is the 4th day of a fever, when left untreated, typically they resolve in about 5. Cross your fingers. And no magic potion this go around b/c we just gave it last week. That must have only interrupted the cycle, not broken it. That happened once before. Oh, and the saddest...she missed meet the teacher day at her pre-school today. She is too sick to care but I am disappointed. She will have to march in next week like she owns the place!

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outdoor movie theater

A super fun idea. My neighbors hosted a little end of summer party. They borrowed this set up from a friend: screen + prjector that plays DVDS. Very cool. Great picture too. The adults seemed to think Firehouse Dog ran a little long preferring the Bon Jovi concert that was accidentally left in the projector instead. Everyone is a critic, right?!

And if you are wondering how this night could be any better if you are kid..I mean is there anything better than an outdoor movie, in your pajamas, up WAY past your bedtime, bonfire to make s'mores...???

How about losing tooth #2?!! And I promise she is not hurt in this picture, just dramatic for the photographer. And it best shows off the ever widening gap on the lower deck!

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exercise excitement

That is the name of Shelby's little tumbling type class--not some new age mantra that I have adopted. Although I did get new gym shoes, and I still have the MP3 player full of songs to make me want to get out and hustle. I am going to do it....someday.
Back to Miss S. She loved it as you can see. Full of enthusiasm. Exercise Excitement. It's a good concept.

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